Kochapan

On October 20th, amidst a crisp, chilly fall day, six ladies were transported to a Tropical Paradise for their Thai cooking extravaganza. The day began with an Asian market tour in the 18eme, led by Thai-native-turned-French resident, Kochapan. Like children in a candy store, the ladies oooh’d and ahhh’d — relishing their discovery of all things Asian. Fresh exotic fruits, hard-to-find Asian sauces and spices, even pantry items were quickly purchased to replicate recipes back home. At Kochapan’s Asian-inspired apartment, we were served a refreshing coconut drink before the ladies were put to work: cutting, grating, marinating, sautéing, and pounding herbs in mortar and pestles. In between all this, we even learned how to make a flower out of a fresh tomato!

No one said this was going to be easy — but the fruits of our labour certainly paid off when we completed three Thai dishes. Not only were they authentic… they were, more importantly, delicious! We were so full, each of us even got to go home with that good ‘ol Asian custom of “tapaw” (or doggie bag)! Not a bad deal at all.

Thank you, Kochapan, for sharing your recipes with us, and for your gracious charm and warm hospitality! If you want to read more about this adventure, hop on over to fellow AWAP member Eva Wong’s blog.

Discovering Asian Food Stores

A beautifully set-up dining table welcomed us.

Plus this refreshing fresh coconut drink!

Then the chaos began. Fun, happy chaos.

Lovingly-carved out tomatoes.

And our crowning glory: Phad Thai.

The Chefs at work, plus the camera girl.

We are ready to impress our families with everything we learned! C’est sûr!